A Queen's Bride
by WishIwasBo16
Summary: Henry's daughter is sick in bed and asks for a bedtime story, specifically a love story. Henry tells her the beautiful tale of how her grandmother's fell in love. (Set in an AU after 3x12)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1.**

"Daddy!" Coral yelled from her room.

Henry groaned wearily having been sure she was asleep the last time he checked on her. He made his way back to her room and instantly his weariness melted away when he saw her sad pout and her big brown eyes looking over at him.

"Daddy, can you take these off I promise I won't scratch."

His five year old daughter lifted up her hands to reveal that they were both hidden underneath oven gloves that were taped to her hands. He roamed his eyes over the rest of her pajama clad body showing proof for the need of the gloves. She had red bumps all over her milky skin. He knew it was better for her to get chicken pox now than for her to have it when she was his age but the sight of his little girl sick made a small part of his heart ache. This had been her fourth day in bed and after scratching the entire first day his wife decided that the gloves were a good option. She was in work all night and it was his time to play nurse to his sick child. So far she was alright but Coral was starting to get cranky. Especially about the gloves that were stuck to her hands.

"No, you said that the last time. They are staying on."

"But!" She moaned reminding him of her mother when she did.

"But nothing, you don't want to scar."

"But I can't do anything, I can't even read a book." She pouted again, her chestnut hair falling onto her face as she did.

"I tell you what, how about I read you a story." Henry compromised hoping to come to a happy middle.

It seemed to do the trick, she smiled and sat up in bed.

"Can you tell me a love story?"

"What about the story of how I met your mother?" He asked.

She groaned and flopped over on her side. "I've heard that one."

"Have I ever told you how your grandmothers fell in love?" Henry asked as a small smile crept onto his face.

"No...I don't think so..." She sat back up in the bed.

"Oh it's a wonderful story but it's a bit long..."

"I wanna hear it."

He sat down beside her on the bed. "Where to begin...I will start from the memory loss. You knew about Grandma Regina adopting me and how I came to find my birth mother your Granny Emma. A few years after that Peter Pan brought a curse to control every Storybrooke civilian and give them cursed lives worse than the one my mom ever had. No one wanted this curse, they all wanted an out. Grandma Regina was the only one who knew how to stop it. But it would mean losing me and Emma."

"But she has them now."

"I know honey. I will get to that. We said goodbye and she was sure she would never see us again. And I...thought it too." Henry felt a lump form in his throat at the recovered memory.

"But you 'member her now? She remembers me. She said I am her favorite grandchild!" Coral beamed with a huge smile making her father smile back at her.

"You are her only grandchild." He reminded her rolling his eyes.

"Still her favorite." She stated proudly.

"You are. But for a year I had no idea about Grandma Regina, or nana Snow or great grandpa David. I thought it was just me and my mom Emma. We had moved to New York City and lived in Manhattan. We were happy but something always felt missing. Then one day a pirate showed up at our door."

"Daddy! You said this was a love story." Coral whined.

"It is." He assured her.

"With pirates?" She asked skeptically, crossing her arms.

"Yes, honey. And it was just one pirate." Henry toussled his daughter's hair and went back to his story. "He brought a potion to restore Granny's memories. And it worked she remembered everything. But he didn't have enough for me."

"Why was that?"

"No one knows. But Granny remembered and she took me back to Storybrooke. She made up stories about a case she was working on and a person she was looking for and..." Henry chuckled.

"What?" Coral asked wondering what the joke was.

"Your nana Snow introduced herself as a former gangster." He let out another laugh while his daughter just stared at him with a puzzled look.

"Anyway, I was at the diner for what I was sure was the first time and that's when I saw my mom...I didn't know who she was but she knew me. She dropped a tea cup. And I heard the clatter and looked up from my hot chocolate. She was staring at me in awe at first but then I saw her and she looked so...haunted..." Henry sighed as he remembered her face. "And I watched as my mam; Granny Emma, went to usher her off to the back room of the diner. I knew something was up. But I didn't know what...I thought I did later that day."

"What happened later that day?" Coral asked curiously.

"I met my own mother...I just didn't know it. She came to the apartment. I was told that she was the Mayor and that she wanted to meet me. I shook her hand. And everyone was acting weird about it. I know why now. But at the time I had another idea."

"What was the other idea?"  
"I thought she was my mam's ex." Henry said with a grin at how foolish he had been at the time.

Coral giggled. "Did you tell her?"

"No! God no, your grandma Emma had just broke up with a guy before we got to Storybrooke and it was, uh, messy?" Henry winced as he remembered Walsh, the flying monkey who almost became his step father.

"So what happened next?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi thanks for sticking with it. The story is told now in a How I met your Mother sort of way with a more flashback setting. Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 2.

Henry thought back to that year, he remembered the day it all started he was sitting in Granny's. The smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen, the busying citizens of Storybrooke dropping in for breakfast, the way Ruby looked in her uniform. He smirked to himself at his adolescent selves focus on her. It felt like he was right back there as he told his daughter the story.

"I was in Granny's diner playing a game when..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

He was playing a game when he heard someone clear their throat to get his attention.

"Henry?" Regina stood before him in a long black coat similar to his, matched with a black scarf. She wore the same sad smile he had seen her wear the first time he had met her and the same nervousness. She was twisting a ring on her finger waiting for him.

"Uh Mayor M-mills right?" Henry asked remembering their odd encounter from the other evening. She grinned widely at him for knowing her name.

"That's right. Your mom sent me...Oh don't worry she's okay she just has to work on her case and figured you would get bored cooped up with a sleeping pregnant lady. You are with me today if that's okay?" She shifted on the spot waiting for him to answer. He pondered why the woman who was basically a complete stranger was so anxious and nervous around him. _'Maybe she has social anxiety, maybe she is like Mr Fields from the second floor back home.'_

"Um, sure. But aren't you the Mayor, I am sure babysitting tourists isn't in your job description."

She chuckled in a slightly more relaxed manner before taking a seat across from him, taking off her gloves. "It actually isn't but...I am an old _friend _of your mom's and I...said I would keep you safe for the day while she ran her case."

Henry looked at her perplexed wondering why she had said friend in such a peculiar manner, like it was an inside joke only one he wasn't quite getting. She was staring at him in wonder and awe making him feel slightly unnerved but something about her told him he was safe. _'What is she looking at? Do I have foam on my lips? She looks familiar maybe she's a distant relative.'_

"So what is there to do in Storybrooke?" He asked finishing his hot chocolate thinking longingly about all the things he could do in New York.

"Not much really but we do have some good ice cream and quite nice lake and forest, some nice hiking trails. We could get that ice cream I promised you and go for a walk."

"Will you be okay walking in those shoes?" He asked glancing down at the heels on her boots. She looked back at him with a scrunched brow before looking down at her feet. "It's just whenever mom goes anywhere for long in her heels she has to sit down a lot."

Regina couldn't help herself and scoffed.

"What?"

"Nothing, just, Em-your mom in heels." She chuckled again at what her memories had done to change Emma's image. "Sorry just when I knew your mom she wasn't exactly a heels kind of girl."

_'What? She must have known mom a long while ago...' _

Henry wanted to ask her when exactly she knew mom and if she knew about his dad but was interrupted by Ruby coming by to ask if he wanted a refill.

"No thanks. How much is it?"

"On the house." Ruby smiled and sauntered off to serve another customer. Henry watched her mesmerised by the sway in her hips, he stopped when he saw Regina watching him and quickly shifted his gaze.

"D-do people ever pay for stuff here? Every time I try they say it's on the house." He asked trying to distract the mayor from his suddenly reddening cheeks.

"Your mother was loved in this town, just people happy to have her back. I think."

_'So mom was here a while...Enough to not only make friends but make a whole town like her.'_

He got up and put on his coat and waited for Regina to follow suit.

"You have gotten so big." She whispered to herself as she took in his appearance.

"What?" Henry stopped fastening his coat buttons. She froze her movements as her eyes went wide realising her mistake. She had promised Emma to keep her secret and was already failing after a few minutes with him.

"We only met the other day..." _'Have we met before is that why she looks familiar?'_

"Wha-yes, uh, your...y-your mothe has sent me pictures over the years and you were a lot...smaller then." Regina quickly lied to cover up her slip up.

"Mom sent pictures?" He questioned tilting his head, wondering why his mother would send pictures of him to a women he never met, a supposed old friend.

"Yes, well she was quite proud of you."

He narrowed his eyes but seemed to believe her.

XxXxXxXxX

A much older Henry leaned back on his chair and gave his daughter a saddened smile.

"What's wrong daddy?" Coral asked wondering why he had paused in his story telling.

"Nothing, just an odd time to think about." He cleared his throat and gave her a quick grin. "Anyway sweetheart, where was I?"

"Granny Regina was gonna take you out for ice cream."

"Ah yes."

XxXxXxX

"What ice cream do you like?" Henry asked from inside the ice cream parlour as he looked at all the flavors to choose from.

"There is an apple pie one I quite like." She got a small cup full from the server behind the counter and offered him some. He took a small bite.

"It's good...but I prefer chocolate." Regina rolled her eyes remembering old arguments over candy versus fruit during many shopping trips. She bought him a cone and they decided to go for a small tour of the town.

"Did mom live here?" He asked curiously wanting to know what it was about this town that lured his mother back here. Emma wouldn't say much to him which made him want to know even more.

"For a short while, yes."

"Was my dad with her?" He knew about his mother's jail time and he knew he was born there. He also knew that his mother ran away from her foster homes in her late teens and met his dad. _'She had to be here between leaving her last family and having me. That's when she met dad.'_

"Uh...not really." Regina half answered not wanting to go into detail about the man she didn't deem worthy as a parent to her son. "What do you know about your father?"

Henry shrugged. "He left my mom in jail for a crime he committed so he's not exactly a good guy." He answered and watched as Regina smirked at that. _'She doesn't like my dad.'_

They kept walking until they made it to the lake. "Is the ice cream good?" Regina asked nervously in an attempt to change the subject. Henry saw through her but decided to let it slide.

"Delicious. My mom used to take me for gelato in little Italy but this is just as good."

"Well Storybrooke's got it's own charms, though I know it must seem quiant compared to the big city."

"It's nice actually. New York's great but there's so many people it can make you feel..."

"Alone." She finished and he grinned at her. He could see why she would be elected Mayor. She seemed friendly and kind.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, that's the best part of a small town, everybody knows everybody. It's like a big family." She smiled again and him and that odd pull he was feeling around her was coming back. He knew he could talk to her and have her actually listen to him unlike the pregnant ex gangster he was staying with.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I don't think it was just the case that brought my mom to Storybrooke." He watched her freeze at that. She had to know something he didn't about the strange move to Maine.

"Uh, what do you mean."

"I think she wanted to get out of New York for a while."

"Wha-why do you think that?"

"My mom's boyfriend, his name was Walsh. He proposed to her." He saw it. She looked lost and hurt by that.

"Oh..."

"And two days later she's taking me out of school for some job in Maine. She wouldn't take a job in Queen's if it meant I'd miss school."

"What do you think happened?"

"I dunno. But I doubt we'd be here if she said yes."

"And how did you feel about it did you like him this..._Walsh._"

"I like how happy he made her. Plus it might be nice having more than two place settings over the holidays."

"I think one day you will have more family than you'll know what to do with."

"You think so?"

"I really do."

They continued walking along the lake front for a minute or so before they spoke again.

"What do you know about this Killian guy?"

"Well he dated my mother so quite a bit." Regina pressed her lips together internally groaning at that. Henry however actually groaned.

"Ew, he seems to be after my mom too." Henry made a face. The last thing he wanted was for that guy to start dating his mother.

_'Walsh was boring but at least he didn't smell like the mixture of a deli and a packed subway.'_

"He would flirt with anything but it does seem he has a thing for her yes." He could hear the annoyance in her voice.

"What is with his outfit though? Who wears leather pants?"

Regina and Henry laughed softly.

"And he hasn't changed, we have been here about a week." Henry pointed out making Regina smirk.

"He is a bit slow...but seems a good messenger of sorts."

"He's not good enough for mom that's for sure."

"Was...the guy in New York?" Regina asked hoping for a certain answer.

Henry smiled absentmindely. "Not really. He was kinda boring. Mom needs someone who challenges her."

Regina smiled widely at his answer.

XxXxXxXxX

"So Granny Regina was already in love with Grandma Emma then?" Coral asked with a broad smile on her face.

"Yes I believe so. She seemed to want to hide it."

"Why would she want to do that?"

"I think she was scared."

"So what happened next?"

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So what happened next?" Coral said excited to find out how her grannys got together.

Henry gave her a wry smile. "It gets a bit complicated here."

"Complicated how?"

"Well we get to the part of the story where...where my father died."

"Neal?" Coral asked. She had heard about her grandfather a few times from her dad about how he came from the enchanted forest, got stuck in Neverland and came back to our world. She heard some of his tale from her father's stories but she never heard how he was gone. She knew of death, she had seen it in plenty Disney movies, but she didn't really understand it. _'How can someone just be gone...they come back in cloud form right?'_

Henry sighed this was part of the story he was dreading to tell. For a while he was angry at himself for not remembering his father at his funeral and for that while though he wasn't proud of it he had been angry at his family for not telling him there and then about his lost memories. He later realised it was for the best.

Coral cleared her throat to get her father's attention as his mind seemed to wander off.

Henry shook his head lightly and continued on with the tale.

"I had woken up one morning and looked out the window and saw Grandma Regina walk towards the diner and then barely two minutes later I saw your Granny run in..."

"What were they up to?"

"That was exactly my thought."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_'What are they up to?'_ Henry thought as he peered through window suspicious of them. He continued watching until he saw the mayor leave then waited until he saw his mother leave while the leather bound guy followed after her staring at his mother's backside.

"Ugh!" He rolled his eyes. The guy wasn't exactly who he wanted for his mother. He was unwashed for one thing and dressed like an over the top bad guy. Henry wanted his mother to actually settle down and be with someone who they could have at holidays and an extra stocking on the mantle at Christmas. He could tell this Killian guy like so many others she met were just into her for something casual.

_'Maybe he's an ex.' _He thought to himself. _'It would make sense why mom has zero interest in him and he can't seem to get the hint.'_

He was wondering about a life he would have with Killian picturing the guy on the beach in his get up and was chuckling to himself when his mother came in the door.

"Hi kid, are you okay spending the day with another town member." She asked with a wry smile.

"Mom, I am old enough to take care of myself." He groaned wanting to just spend the day watching TV or playing games.

"Not for another year. Besides, you don't really know your way around here. I just want you safe." Emma said as she walked by ruffling his hair as she walked past him to the kitchen area to make him a lunch for the day.

"Safe? Mom this place is extremely boring. Nothing happens here. I think I'll be fine." He watched as his mother smirked to herself buttering his bread.

"It...you know I am here on a case...someone very dangerous is on the loose and...just...will you just go along with it." She sighed putting down the knife showing him that she was serious and that she just wanted the best for him.

"Fine. Is it with Regina again?" He asked moving closer to the stools by the kitchen island.

"Uh, no not today. She...uh...has to work?" Emma looked down paying too much attention to how the ham was placed on the bread.

Henry raised his eyebrow. "With you?"

He noticed how the color on his mother's cheeks had now gone to the tips of her ears.

"No. She is mayor, she has to do mayor stuff." She told him a little bitterly cutting through sandwich with a large thud of the knife. The sound made Henry jump ever so slightly.

"I like her...Regina. She's nice. She was an old friend right?" He was going to get the truth out of her eventually.

"Is that what she said?" Emma avoided eye contact with him but froze in her movements. He had her there he knew it. She looked like she was lying.

"Why is that not the truth?"

"Uh, no, I mean it is." Emma's cheeks went a light shade of pink as she carefully put his sandwich into a tupperware container.

"It was what she said, she also said that you kept in touch...with the pictures of me." He leaned over the counter with a smirk finally getting to bring it up. He had sat up thinking about that all last night. Had his mother had a friend here the whole time, a close friend. One from her childhood. A friend she had never mentioned. The pregnant couple never mentioned photos or emails but they were interested him too. He wondered if Regina kept them all informed on his little family.

Emma sealed the container and ran a hand through her hair.

"Oh yeah well she was interested to see what you looked like...how you grew up and all. Honey I should really get ready. And I still have to shower."

"Wait mom, did she know my dad?" He asked hopeful.

"Uh, yeah for a bit...they didn't quite get along though." Emma furrowed her brow as she thought back to the few interactions the two had had together. Henry grinned this was an improvement. He knew his father left his mom in jail pregnant with him but he was still curious about him.

"So my dad's from here?"

"Uh kinda...I really should get ready. Leroy will be here to pick you up in an hour." She rushed into the bathroom. He wasn't sure if she knew that he could see her body pressed against the bathroom door or if she knew that because it was so quiet in this town and certainly the loft that he could hear her swear to herself even if it was a whisper.

He chuckled softly to himself at cracking his mother and muttered. "Who the hell is Leroy?"

_'Probably another ex of her's'_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Be careful! You almost lost that fishing pole." Leroy boomed across from him on the small boat by the docks. Henry grabbed the pole holding it in place.

"Oh will you lay off Grumpy." A bespeckled man next to him warned. Henry scoffed even though he tried not to.

"So uh what do you do here?" Henry asked as he held the fishing pole in place.

"Uh, I work in the hospital..."

"And I work as a janitor, handy man. I fix things." Leroy took a sip of drink from a flask and looked out onto the water ahead of them.

Henry peered at the man not too impressed by him.

_'Please don't be an ex boyfriend of mom's.'_

He was watching the dock when he saw the mayor rush past everyone to get to a red haired man who was walking a dalmatian.

"Have you guys lived here a while." Henry asked as he kept his eye on the mayor. "Do you know much about the mayor?"

Leroy scoffed. "Please don't tell me you are getting a crush on her."

"What no."

"That's good. See...our madame mayor isn't exactly the nicest of people."

"She isn't?" He looked over at the woman in what appeared to be a serious talk with the red haired man.

"Not really. I am sure she has her moments bu-" Doc argued.

"No don't stand up for that witch. She threw me into a wall once. Nearly broke my arm." Leroy held up his arm in his indignation at the sudden hero status of the queen who tormented his princess Snow White.

Henry looked at him shocked until Doc shook his head and rolled his eyes at the over dramatic dwarf beside him.

"It was mildly sprained at most." Doc said bored.

"Still."

_'No, how could she hurt a guy his size. She's so teeny. And nice. Mayor Mills wouldn't do that. Maybe he pissed her off.'_

"No she has been great recently. She just had a bad episode."

"Bad episode! She al-"

"Not in front of the boy. Mary Margaret sees the good in her and you should trust in her." The tone of Doc's words seemed to soothe the anger in the other man

"Whatever."

All three of them looked over at the brunette.

"She seems upset, should we go say something?"

"Better off leaving women when they are upset. You'd only say the wrong thing anyway."

She left after a while with the man Henry later learned was Archie. They spent the rest of the day teaching him five card poker while their hooks stayed fish free.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"They gave me my first sip of beer that day...usually something a boy does with his father."

"They let you drink beer?" Coral said with a slight awe to her voice.

"Just a sip dear. Nothing more. You should never drink it. You hear me." He smiled softly at her making the corners of his eyes crinkle. He reached out and tickled under her arm.

She giggled lightly. "I won't Daddy."

"Good. It was a good day until I went to the bench to meet my- to meet Granny Emma..."

"Do you want to stop the story Daddy?"

"No I can finish...so your Granny Emma had come to pick me up. I was excited about my day but she was upset. She told me that my father was dead, killed but that he was a good man."

"Was that why Grandma Regina was upset?" She asked wondering

"No...see at the time this was all happening the Wicked Witch of the West, Zelena, had come to Storybrooke. And she wanted to hurt your Grandma."

"But why?" Henry bit the inside of his cheeks to stop from smiling at the outraged look that was all over his daughter's face at the idea that someone could hate her Grandmother. Truth was they both spoiled her rotten. She loved them maybe even more than he did, something he once thought would be an impossible feat.

"They were sisters. Step sisters and she was messed up in the head. She wanted to kill her."

"No..." Cora shook her head not wanting to believe it.

"Yes, she was rather evil that Zelena."

"And that's why Grandma was upset?"

"No see years before Granny was born before Grandma had set her curse that sent them all here Tinkerbell."

"Tink!" Cora clapped her small hands together. She loved the fairy family friend.

"Yes the very same, used fairy dust to find Grandma's true love and it led her to a man with a Lion tattoo."

"But Granny is her true love!"

"I know kiddo. This was before she was even in Nana Snow's belly. This man came back; Robin Hood, and Grandma had just seen his tattoo."

"And he wasn't Granny Emma." She asked tilting her head with a furrowed brow.

"No, I think that was part of why she was upset. Her choice for a true love was taken away from her." Henry stopped himself before saying _'Like what Cora did with Daniel and Leopold but stopped himself. That part of the tale was too dark.' _He let out a sigh and held under his daughter's chin just as his own mother does to him when she wants to tell him something important. "Your true love is not someone others want you to be with. It is ultimately who you fall in love with. It is important. Never let someone else tell you who is right for you."

Coral smiled at him. "Like you and Momma?"

"Exactly."

"Can I hear the rest of the story?" Coral pleaded with a pouty bottom lip hoping to get her way.

"Of course sweetheart, where was I?"

**To be continued...**


End file.
